


The King's Men

by Judgement



Category: Fate/Zero, Fate/stay night & Related Fandoms, Fate/stay night - All Media Types
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Canon, Drama & Romance, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Mild Language, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Reader-Insert
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-13
Updated: 2020-09-30
Packaged: 2021-03-06 14:54:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,634
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26450725
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Judgement/pseuds/Judgement
Summary: The fourth Holy Grail War is underway and somehow Gilgamesh manages to find something in this pointless era worth keeping.
Relationships: Gilgamesh | Archer/Reader
Comments: 15
Kudos: 91





	1. A King's Servant

“My apologies, my lord.”

Oh? What was this? A mongrel from this era that actually knew their place. How rare. He turned toward you and tilted his head to the side. Arms crossed over the golden armor he wore as he watched your fatigued form bent on a knee. 

You wore white to match the walls of this place that smelled like antiseptic and death. Your body weak and he nearly scoffed and dismissed you. But when the whole place ran out screaming, you were the only one to bend to his whims as he demanded. The only one fit to be a part of his rule, he supposed. How disappointing.

“What’s your name, mongrel?” He ordered, giving you his full attention.

Like a good, obedient servant, you kept your head bowed as you gave him your name. Strange name, fitting for the place and era he found you. His eyes narrowed as he watched your breathing become a tad labored, like the strain of kneeling was taking a toll on your body. But that wasn’t it.. 

Vermillion eyes narrowed in on your form, tilting his head a fraction as he observed you. You were sick, why else would you be here but.. the way you were sick, had the incompetent fools really not figured it out? Then again.. he didn’t see magi the way he used to, like a forbidden practiced art that only few had the privilege of obtaining. Which meant that likely nobody here could actually figure out or understand your condition, let alone treat it.

“Why are you in this place?”

“I’m sick, my lord.” You suck in a sharp breath, you feel exhaustion seep into your bones. You were having a good day today and normally something like this shouldn’t have exhausted you so. 

But, normal days didn’t consist of a hole being blown in the hospital wall as a fight broke out. A fight that could only be described as something ripped straight from a fairy tale. If not from exertion then it was stress eating away at you, shortening whatever life span you had left. 

“Sick with what?”

You hesitated and he scoffed as it only confirmed how truly primitive and fake this era was. They couldn’t figure it out and it seemed the magi were too self absorbed in their own world to bother trying to lead this one. If they were, it was with the holy grail’s power and not their own. A meaningless plight that would fall apart the moment the grail granted it. If they couldn’t rule now, giving them power and status didn’t mean they’d be able to lead later.

“This era is as mindless and ignorant as they come. Swear fealty to me, mongrel, and I will save your pitiful life.”

He extends his hand, the clink of armor drawing your attention. You stare up at the madman who’d slaughtered someone with what you could only describe as magic. Magic as bright and as gold as the armor he wore. You didn’t necessarily want to die and you’d been far too disorientated to run like the rest of the inpatients. So you had dropped to your knee and played along. Would he kill you if you declined? You may not have had a lot of time left, but that didn’t mean you wanted to forfeit it.

Your hand extends and fits neatly into his, decision made. Hoping perhaps the cops would be able to rescue you if you went along with the charade of a deranged man.

“Wise choice.” He grins and there’s a type of sadistic malice in his eyes that makes you shudder. But the instinct is easily repressed and you bow your head again.

In an instant he’s pulled you to his feet and his armored hand rests around your shoulders. “When I win the grail I will take you back to Uruk and you will serve as my personal servant.”

 _Uruk_. Did he say _Uruk?_ You glance up at him, wide eyed. You assume he takes it for awe because his sadistic grin grows into a smug one. A hum of something sparks to life in the air and you feel it vibrate into your bones.

“For now, we return and fix you.”

The world shifts, gold blinds you and before you know it, darkness consumes the light and you don’t remember or feel anything at all.


	2. Pedigree

You wandered the room, trailing a finger along the books that lined what may as well have been a makeshift library. Pulling your finger away and rubbing it against your thumb. Whoever cleaned the place did a thorough job. The door to the room they had put you in snaps open and slams shut. The owner of the house — Tokiomi Tohsaka — sighs. His hand rubs against his face, exhausted with whatever he had tasked himself with. 

“How are you feeling?” He asks, looking uncomfortable and wary. 

“About as good as it gets waking up in a ritual circle.” You shoot back, bemused as you continue to trail your hand across the title of the books lining the shelves. Anything to keep you distracted and from having to acknowledge the man. 

The last thing you remembered was the golden King having grabbed you before the world went black. After that you woke up who knows how much later, barely clothed on a stone slab down in the basement of this mansion. With magic seals you’d only ever seen in fiction surrounding it. You were sure you had entered some horror movie so you had panicked, and you felt it was rightfully so. With a surge of adrenaline fueled by fear shooting through your system. You had tied the sheet around yourself at some half-assed attempt at modesty before fleeing the room. 

You were found swiftly in your attempt at escape by the golden King who called himself Gilgamesh _._ He found the whole ordeal laugh worthy and even praised you for breaking out of the magic seal around the slab, whatever that meant. It was all hogwash anyway, as if scribbles of gibberish on a floor would prevent anyone from leaving. He seemed to think so, though. So you left it at that. 

After, they gave you some clothes to dress in and stuffed you in this room. The owner hastily saying he would talk to the King—Gilgamesh and see that you could leave. They were all absolutely bat shit nuts, you were sure. But you obviously couldn’t escape with Gilgamesh being able to appear behind you instantly to prevent it. So here you were, going along with the insane.

“I’m.. deeply sorry for that. He was persistent and I..” He cuts himself off. Realizing you aren’t even looking at him and that it sounded like excuses.

“I’m sorry,” he repeats, softly. “Once this ordeal is dealt with, I will return you to your family with due haste.” He stands straight with his cane in hand that he rests both hands on. You aren’t given the time to reply, but you aren’t in a rush to. Men like him always needed to finish their piece before you could get a word in. 

“The King has taken an.. interest in you and I cannot sway him to cooperate otherwise. If you could just bear with me.. with him and this unfortunate predicament. I promise to return you to your family and compensate you for your trouble.” He leans forward and sweeps his right hand across his waist as he bows. Presumably asking you to stay and put up with all of this.. nonsense. As if you really had a choice if this was what they decided.

“I don’t have a family.” Your hand rests on the shelf. Turning from the titles to look at the owner, you supposed it was only courtesy. Even though it looked like they had intended to sacrifice you in their stupid fucking basement. 

“No.. Family?” He looks up at you from his light bow. Like the words were taking a moment to process before he realized his error, but before he could babble on _again_ you continued. “Or, if I do, it’s news to me. They abandoned me at the hospital essentially and I haven’t seen them for.. I don’t know, years? At least ten or more.” 

“My apologies, regardless I intend to reward and compensate you handsomely for your time and the trouble.” He bows and promises again, looking at the floor. 

Something shimmers from your right and you turn your head. The King you’d ‘pledged’ yourself too materializing in the room, a glass of wine in hand. You weren’t a fool, Tohsaka practically castrated himself for the King, and who were you to get on his bad side? Even if he was a lunatic who wanted to sacrifice you, apparently.

So you immediately dropped to a knee and bowed your head to avoid looking at him. Instead, keeping your gaze on the ground. Strangely, the abrupt movement hadn’t winded you like it did the other day when he literally crashed into your life. 

Gilgamesh eyes you, a smug smile curling on his lips as he watches you drop to your knee and keep your head down. _Good_. At least one mongrel had some sense. It was this other one.. The smile on his face disappears, instead replaced with something akin to contempt and exasperation. 

“You’re insinuating a lot, Tohsaka.” His voice is cutting and the man across the room jerks his head up before it immediately snaps down. A curse dying on his lips. Why had Gilgamesh shown up? 

“If that is how it came across, I apologize. My King, I would never—”

“But you did,” Gilgamesh cuts off with ease and pushes himself off the desk. He comes to a stop in front of you as he swirls the glass of wine in his hand and glances at you.

“Stand.”

You glance up, almost unsure, but the King is smiling at you. You can sense the approval that _yes,_ _he means you_ and swallow the urge to ask to confirm. He doesn’t seem the type to take well to having to repeat himself or clarify something that should be obvious, to him at least. You stand up and glance at him briefly, he’s still smiling that smug smile at you. Like he’s discovered some secret and he wasn’t indulging anyone but taunting it instead. 

He looks back toward Tohsaka, who snaps his head back down after witnessing the exchange. “I meant no offense,” He clarifies again, his apology sounds strained. 

A part of you wants to go back to minding your own goddamn business and browsing the books; another part is sick with fascination and curiosity at how it will go down. The King doesn’t seem to mind either way, preoccupied with the owner of the house. 

“Really? Shall we list them?” He doesn’t wait for a response, because Tohsaka would say it was unnecessary. “Apologizing and offering _compensation_ for ‘bearing’ with her King. Something I should kill you for doing where you stand,” His voice is sharp and goosebumps break out across your arms. Your heart dips into your stomach and you were just watching the exchange. You'd hate to be on the receiving end. 

“Compensation which you would give away my stuff. Have you forgotten that all of this is mine?” He opens his arms and gestures to the room, to _everything_. “I don’t recall giving you permission to handle my things or the authority to give it away.” 

“I—”

“ _And_ ,” the King cuts off a second time, “you make a fool of my charge. Offering to return her to a family she doesn’t have. As if she didn’t _agree_ to come to this, as if I didn’t know about her predicament. That I saved her from dying a slow and boring death in that place.”

You blink from your spot, surprise colors your face and matches Tohsaka’s when he looks up and glances from the King to you. While you were surprised there was no shame or remorse in the lunatic King for having kidnapped you. Tohsaka was surprised for an entirely different reason.

“Your.. charge?” He questions carefully, looking up at Gilgamesh.

Vermillion eyes narrow in response. Arms crossing over his chest and a scowl beginning to form on his face. 

“Are you questioning me?”

“Not at all, my King. I just don’t see—”

“When did I ask for your opinion, Tohsaka?”

“Forgive me.” A heartbeat of silence, “May I please speak, my King?”

“Just this once and you better make it worth my time.”

“I only bring into question why you would choose her—” Gilgamesh glances to you at that. You aren’t sure whether to be offended or not, and it must show on your face. Because the aggression on his melts into amusement before he glances back to Tohsaka. “—she has nothing to do with the grail or its wars. Her.. lineage has no dates to any magus. Would it not be more prudent to teach someone who could pass on your teachings?”

That wasn’t what he was insinuating at all. You didn’t have to know what he was talking about to at least understand that much. He was saying your _pedigree_ was lacking. He clearly wasn’t apologetic about tossing the fact you didn’t have a family back in your face. So much for that.

Gilgamesh finishes his glass of wine and uses the empty cup to tilt Tohsaka’s face up, urging him to stand straight. When the man does so, he drops the glass toward him and watches as he flounders to catch it. The amusement is gone and he looks angry with his arms crossed over his chest. Looking down his nose at the man before him. 

“The next time you speak, it better be an apology. You continue to insult and question my judgement and this is your last warning.” The room glows and the air ripples as swords begin jutting out of thin air. You step back, surprised, and from your peripheral, Tohsaka drops to his knees and bows deeply but says nothing. 

“Mongrel,” Your attention snaps from the rippling gold that produces weapons from thin air to the King who stands in front of them, casually. The anger melts away just a fraction when you respond to the demeaning call. The rippling gold lights disappear and it snaps your attention back to where the weapons once were. Gilgamesh walks around Tohsaka, who still bowed with his head to the floor. “Come.” 

You look back to Gilgamesh as he makes for the door, one hand in his pocket. Pausing only once to glance back at you. 

“Yes, my King.” Your instincts remind you obedience will keep you alive. 

“What magic do you know?” He asks as he walks out of the room with you trailing behind.

 _Magic?_ You didn’t want to disappoint by saying none, but you really didn’t know anything like what he displayed back there. “I know.. a few magic card tricks.” You sound and look sheepish.

Your response makes the King laugh, “Those are cheap parlor tricks. I will show you real magic.”

“I’m honored my King, though you don’t need to waste your time on me.”

Tohsaka remains glued to the floor, listening to your conversation with the King as it fades into the distance. Clutching the glass he had caught in a white-knuckled grip. He doesn’t want to admit that he had been cowed into submission so easily or that his hands were trembling. He only sits up to glance behind him and watch your form trailing after Gilgamesh. Who, by the looks of it, is amused by your presence. He can’t help but wonder if you would be the leverage he needed to keep the King in check.


End file.
